Levelland Freshman Crowned Miss Caprock
Jennifer Conlee, co-news-editor
After an intense
competition between 21 contestants, Britnye Hurst was crowned Miss Caprock
2006 at the 48th annual scholarship pageant.
The
event, was held Nov. 19 in the Tom T. Hall Recording and Productions Studio
in the Creative Arts Building.
“I was
very shocked because it was a very stiff competition,” said Hurst, who
received a $500 dollar scholarship along with her crown and sash. “All the
girls stood the same chance of winning.”
Hurst,
a freshman accounting major, is the daughter of Britt and Kenda Hurst of
Levelland. She was nominated by the Texan Cheerleaders.
Hurst spends most of her time cheerleading, and she is very
involved with her church. She also serves as a campus ambassador, and is a
member of of Phi Theta Kappa honor society. She was the winner of the 2005
SPC Beauty and the Beast contest, as well.
“I
plan to go to Tech next year, once I graduate.” Hurst said of her future
plans. “I hope I get an established, successful career in accounting and
finance. I also hope to get married and have kids down the line.”
As for
her fellow competitors,
Hurst said “they did a wonderful job, and they all looked
beautiful. I really enjoyed getting to know all the girls.”
The
first runner-up in the pageant was Alexandra Chapa, from Post. Chapa is a
19-year-old freshman who is majoring in radiology. She represented the
S.T.A.R. Center.
“I
believe that everybody’s a winner, and I really enjoyed working with
everyone,” said Chapa. “It was a pleasure.”
Chapa,
who has never been in a pageant before, loves spending time with her family
and friends, as well as cooking and scrapbooking. As runner-up, she
received a $300 scholarship.
The
fourth runner-up was Christine Young, 18, from Clovis, N.M., Ashley McNeeley,
19, from Tahoka, was third runner-up, and Sasha Wilson, 19, from Lubbock,
was second runner-up.
Each
of the contestants had to meet several requirements, including being a
full-time student with a GPA of at least 2.0, with no academic or social
probations. They must also be an active member of the club which they
represented.
The
pageant began without a hitch, as Russell Hall, the master of ceremonies,
began his introductions. The girls first modeled casual wear, followed by
the modeling of formal wear. This portion of the pageant was 25 percent of
the total score for each girl.
Interviews that were held prior to the pageant accounted for 50 percent, and
questions for the five finalists were the last 25 percent.
The
girls did so well in the pageant that it took the judges longer than usual
to choose the finalists. Hall provided some humor, and
South Plains College
student Jessica Carson, who played the keyboard and performed several of her
originals songs, provided entertainment during the judging.
Among
the three who served as judges this year was Vickie Melton, who is employed
as the office manager for Caprock Medical Associates in Lubbock and is on
the Medical Advisory Board for Texas Careers and International Business
College. She was featured on the Maury Pauvich show in 1998, when she was
acknowledged for her nationally renowned excellence in patient care service.
Also
serving as a judge was Angela Battin, who was chosen as Miss T.E.E.N.
Lubbock in 1988, and went on to participate in the 1988 Texas Miss T.E.E.N
pageant. In 1989, she was crowned Miss Caprock at SPC, where she majored in
broadcast journalism. She lives in Levelland and is a fulltime mother to
her four sons.
The
third judge was Julie Upton, a junior at Texas Tech with a double major of
broadcast journalism and theatre. She graduated from SPC in December of
2004 with an Associates of Arts degree. She has participated in “Texas
Legacies,” and was Miss Caprock 2004. She is the current Miss Lubbock USA
2005.
Each
of the five finalists were asked one question that was written based on
their interview. The questions had something to do with a social or
economic situation that the young women had expressed an interest in.
All of
the contestants did a wonderful job, and the only problem was when Hall
misplaced the information for one of the entrants. He played it off with
humor, and the contestant was wonderful about it, telling her own
information.
Hall
said, “This was one of the best pageants, and one of the hardest to judge,
which is why it took so long. All of the girls were great.”
